8/11/2019 Jim Prentice's letter to Naheed Nenshi during PC
leadership race
1/2
August 27, 2014
His Worship Mayor Naheed K. Nenshi
Historic City Hall
700 Macleod Trail SCalgary, AB T2P 2M5
Via email:[email protected]
Your Worship,
Thank you for contacting me and requesting my views on how I, as
Premier, would work
with Albertas major cities to ensure the continued prosperity of
our province. This has
certainly been an exciting time for me since the launch of my
campaign last May, as Ive had
the opportunity to travel across our province and connect with
the people who make itgreat.
I am hearing from Albertans that the Provinces relationship with
cities must evolve and
recognize the governance and operational sophistication of
individual municipalities. I
know that significant work needs to be done in advancing our
major urban centres ability
to have the tools and flexibility required to keep pace with
their growth, service and
renewal needs. The two major cities budgets have large-scale
capital and operational
requirements for essential priorities like LRT, which they must
be able to meet.
I support moving forward with City Charter discussions based on
recognition of some key
principles, such as recognizing the need for flexible and
predictable funding to ensure citiescan respond to and plan for
growth. And, while I am supportive of Charters, I will add that
a
major challenge of the process to date has been the lack of
public input into this major policy
initiative. Noting that significant input is being gathered into
the Municipal Government Act
review, a more focused public discussion on Charters, their form
and impact, is desirable.
On the question of municipal funding, I know that municipalities
need financial certainty
and I am willing to look at and consult on different options
including user fees, shared
service agreements, the Education portion of property tax,
bonds, infrastructure pricing, as
well as to look at the benefits and challenges associated with
existing grant programs both
operational and capital.
I understand the MGA review is looking at some of these options.
I also expect this question
to be a major focus of discussion in terms of City Charter
discussions. I have been hearing
many comments about property assessment processes and property
taxation tools. I am
open to consulting with you on different options, as outlined
above. I have also been clear
however, that I am not in support of developing new taxes; I
believe we have lots of options
to review without heading down this path.
1
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
8/11/2019 Jim Prentice's letter to Naheed Nenshi during PC
leadership race
2/2
Our major cities are much more than collections of buildings,
roads and pipes they are
centres of learning, culture and community. Working with
municipalities to support their
efforts to invest in the quality of life assets such as the arts
and higher education is animportant part of attracting and
retaining global talent needed to drive our economic
engine.
On the 911 ambulance dispatch question, I am open to reviewing
this with the City. If
changing the current system will drive up cost and increase
response times as you suggest,
then a continuation of the integrated service in Calgary may
make the most sense.
You also asked about municipal election finance reform. I would
like to learn more about
this issue and understand where the recent review process may
have fallen short. In
general, I believe that our provincial processes work well and
that municipal finance and
disclosure rules should meet the same standards as the
Provincial system. I am quite opento hearing Calgarys position as
well as those of Edmonton and the major municipal
organizations.
Finally, you asked me about my views on regional planning: I
strongly believe that
frameworks that enable regional cooperation are essential. I
look forward to having the
opportunity to engage with the Calgary Regional Partnership as
well as the Capital Region
Board to ensure these plans move forward. One of the major
components that the Province
can provide to ensuring the success of these agreements is to
ensure all parts of the Alberta
Government not just municipal affairs seek to align policies
that support the evolving
roles that our major regional bodies play in attracting and
coordinating our economic
success.
I hope that these answers provide you with the comfort and
knowledge that I will be an
engaged and constructive Premier if become the successful
candidate on September 6 th. I look
forward to working with you and all the Mayors and Reeves in
Alberta to continue making our
province the best place to work and live in Canada.
Yours respectfully,
Jim Prentice
2
